Well, its been years and years since the HL2 addons, EP1 and EP2. Where is EP3, and what is going to happen when it comes, if it comes? Will it be that amazing game we've all been waiting for, or that crappy sequel that everybody dreads? These are my thoughts on the subject.

Some of my friends think that Valve has become the new EA: Greedy assholes who spit out shit games at high prices. And in a lot of ways, they have. Left 4 Dead is a perfect example of that, as is their horrid sequel. So is this going to carry over into Half Life 2: Episode 3, or will Valve do what they did with HL2: Pitch all their money into one huge budget, throw it out to the development team, and make a kickass game?

From what I can see, there are two things that can happen. Its either going to get a low budget, A bad story, short gameplay, and a rehashing of the Orange Box Engine, or its going to get the biggest budget yet, a strong and interesting story, a runtime that can compare to HL2's, and a totally new engine.

Valve Corporation has admittedly getting greedier over the years, and might just spew out a sack of shit as a final "up yours" to the fans. Or not even release it.

But, if we're lucky, they'll say "to hell with it", throw a huge amount of money towards it, and make that final, epic conclusion. And really, I dont see why they wouldnt! It worked with HL2, proving that big bucks and some originality go a long way in gaming. They might go for nostalgia and make HL3, or EP3, their big finish; their best game ever made, capable of claiming the crown that HL2 has held for so long.

And in all honesty, I think they will. I think that Valve has been quietly working on it HL3... That L4D and L4D2 were their sad little moneymaking machines to keep them running as they worked on HL3. Forgive me for being a Valve fanboy, but I think that HL3 has been in development than much longer than we might think, and that Valve will finally let out that grand sequel we've been looking for in a few years.

What will really make me decide if that is true or not is Portal 2. It looks like its been in development for a while; When we play, we shall see if Valve is still making their good ol' quality products or are trying to rip us off. If its great, HL3 will be better, if it sucks, HL3 will most likely be crap.

Please tell me your thoughts on this review, I want to know everybody's opinions on what Valve is about to do.

Personally, I don't think L4D(2) were bad games, as I make each time I play a new experience. Anyway, I agree, I think Valve won't let us down here. With something as badass as the Half-Life universe (Portal included) can they really afford to fail at HL3 or EP3 without being choked in their sleep by fans?

Well, they can avoid that if they have the money to get bodyguards to choke the fans first.

ALSO: I have another shred of "proof" that Valve hasnt become a madhouse of greedy jerks. When hollywood came to make Valve sell their soul to the movie industry, they downright refused. +1 point for Valve Corporation!

Ep3 was announced to be in development ages ago. Some images did get leaked ( and I'm not talking about those ****** fakes that were hl2 designs). Portal 2 will most likely link to episode 3 and therefore is an asset to the story. Valve have been getting desperate and trying to grab alot of money recently and put out a buy weapons **** in tf2. They are planning something.

Also the orange box is a version of the source engine so most likely they're sticking to their famous engine and not making a new one because making a new engine would take years of work. l4d was modified so much that it was almost separated from the ob engine completely. I remember it being called something else but I'm betting valve have something up their sleeve. Maybe bringing back old beta enemies and have some new effects.

Personally I think L4D2 is equal to L4D in terms of fun-having. Besides, I feel like I owe it to Valve that I purchase everything they spit out, bad or not, in return for the constant free updates and DLC they shovel at us in high quality droves. Look at what TF2 has become, and on several occasions all that many people have had to pay for it was £7.50 or so.
But pulling my tongue out of Valve's collective butthole for a second, I have a good feeling that they're in the process of doing amazing things to Source for Episode Three. I mean thy've got to come out with a bigger innovation than sign language. Either way, between Episode Three and Portal 2, the future of Source modding is only going to get brighter. Until then, I hope The Sacrifice can keep me going for another while longer while we wait for more news.

I despise debating over what a game will be, it is pointless because we never have solid claims from the game company saying what would be included in the game.

But, to contribute, Valve might **** up other games, but they know their Half-Life games have to be of, at minimum, above-average quality. And the TF2 store is not a stab at making money, but it's to give back to the creators of the content used. Valve is rolling in money anyway, considering how successful Steam is.

So it's now, what we all think for years.
We get a powerful game, which is even more superior than EP2 was.
Or VALVe forgets the love they've put in Half-Life series, which I dare to doubt (Because GabeN would never forget Half-Life, even after TF2-shop, L4D2, and so on)

Dunno, think the Valve=EA comparison might be a bit harsh.. (hating on EA is almost a meme, heh)

I get the impression Valve *do* genuinely have a passion for quality games and caring about the people who play them.. but waiting around like an idiot (as I have been for years) for HL2-E3 to appear is a JOKE of cosmic proportions.. (to think even old Nukem will arrive before that! Jebus..)

I'm also not sure I'm the only one that thinks most of the bigger titles on Steam should be a lot less damn expensive than they actually are.. £39.99 for COD:BOpz? Yeah right. What's *that* about?

Generally though, I honestly don't think it's simply a matter of Greed, rather than a distinct lack of the will to actually try anything truly daring - eg. a decent way to deal with T.K'ers on L4D2 ;-) - because hey, "It works, right.. well kinda.. so why not just let the ca$h continue to roll in until it's time for the next Steam Update?"

Ah, I see what you mean :D And yes... EP3 is starting to turn into a bit of a joke. But I tell you, if they play their cards right with the trailers, etc., EP3 will basically come to the gaming community as a messiah lol.

Ep3 will be released and then they are pretty much giving up on half-life, Gabe has even said this himself, It isn't a money puller anymore. Some of these comments are apt and i agree with them, some i do not however...like lockdown 323's message, valve really don't care about its community anymore. SURLY you have all noticed that every valve game EXCEPT hl2 is now closed source? I.E no modding for it, you can get a couple of things here and there like a new weapon...ported from CS that is just useing the m16's code as a basis but then thats all it is, an m16 with a new skin, THATS NOT MODDING!

And the EA comparison i happen to thing is very apt, after all they are VERY buddy buddy with EA now, hence why every valve game released ona console is published by EA...hell look at amazon, they even think ITS MADE BY EA.

I have 2 things to say: I kinda got dissapointed with L4D to myself, i lag like **** on MultiPlayer and i crash on SinglePlayer cos of my ****** PC. And about EP3. I bet it will just be or same old ******* Half-Life 2 just with new models and maps, and EP3 will probaly be realeased in 2011 but i worry about what it's like and the price and if i should sacrifice my disk space for it.